DOZENS of widows and older women in Worcestershire are facing a triple blow to their pensions due to a number of problems that occurred several years ago.

People who chose to rely on pension provision through their husband's National Insurance Contribution (NIC), and who did not switch to the full stamp in 1977, are now entitled to only small sums of money.

This is according to the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), who says leaflets of the time did not explain the situation clearly.

To add insult to injury, these women will be badly affected by the one per cent increase in National Insurance, which began last month.

And if that wasn't bad enough, many women will also be hit by another misinformation controversy.

Six years ago, the Inland Revenue stopped sending out reminders to husbands that they would have to top up their NIC payments if they wanted to receive a full state pension.

Significant

Many men died before doing this and their wives are now receiving low levels of state pension.

"The NIC hike which has just kicked in means that a woman earning £11,000 a year who was paying NIC of £245.82 is now paying a bill of £309.67 - an increase of £63.85 - or £5 a month," said ACCA West Midlands spokesperson Val Culley.

"This will have a significant impact on people with tight household budgets.

"A woman on £21,400 a year is now paying £164.84 more NIC - a total contribution of £831.40.

"Add to this everything else and millions of women are affected by this triple NIC whammy."